Mohawks And Money
by JeffHardysWife
Summary: Sometimes change can be good for you, but sometimes you end up with more on your plate than you bargained for. Follow Jamie Szantyr Velvet Sky  as she works through her emotions and her physical attractions to figure out if true love is in her future.
1. Unraveling

Normally once I win a match, I bask in the glory of the fact that for that single moment in time I was the better wrestler, however in this case I knew the beast I had just beaten wasn't exactly as incapacitated as I would've liked and rather than spending my time waiting to be beaten into a pulp I chose to high tail it out of the ring and up the ramp. Even now as I made my way backstage, my heart raced and my pulse thumped in my ears as I made my way through the maze of corridors, looking for the Knockouts changing room. Sure, I should've known where it was by now but my mind wasn't exactly focused on where my feet were taking me, more in what they were carrying me away from. Being part of 'The Beautiful People' was all well and good if only the outcome of being the villainous heel didn't mean that the opponents I faced half the time truly didn't like my character or me outside of the ring. Sometimes the worst thing about wrestling politics is that you can't show your true self without it being used against you in some screwed up storyline later on in your career. Ehhh hazard of the business I guess. As I paced quickly through the hallways, trying my hardest to mask my 'scent' from Jessica by wandering through many hallways and retracing some of my steps, I stumbled across Dixie Carter showing some new guy around. I could tell he was new because he had that look of total awe that someone who was new to the business wore all over them. I should've stopped and told him that the 'new appreciative glow' he felt would soon fade once he met some of the guys that he was to share a locker room with but I didn't want to burst his bubble so soon. Baby steps, baby steps. Waving in silence to Dixie as I passed her, I headed for the Knockout's locker room and pushed the door in just in time to stumble through the doorway and trip over Ashley's bag. Ashley hadn't been here very long and for some reason the powers that be had decided she was to be Lauren and I's "prodigy", as if we really needed a third wheel within our group. I guess everyone needs a coffee getter, or someone to take the matches the didn't want. Yes, Ashley was going to fit in well with 'Angelina Love and Velvet Sky'...as our little bitch. Anyway, once I slowly rose to my feet and dusted off my knees, pulling on the hem of my shirt to fix that as well, I heard the vocal tornado of 'I'm so sorry's' coming from Ashley's mouth and I closed my eyes, praying that she'd be done rambling soon and then I could speak. Crossing the room and taking a seat in one of the hydrolic chairs in front of the mirror, Ashley finally shut up long enough to take a breath and I took my chance to speak, eyes focused directly on the petite frame in front of me "Ashley...chill out. It's okay...relax. Just...next time, remember that other people have to walk in the door and don't put your bag there okay?" As she nodded like a bobblehead, I knew that she'd forget next time and we'd have this conversation again but at the moment as I spun around to face the mirror, my eyes focused in on the damage that my match had done to my make-up as my mind drifted back to the man I had seen in the hallway. There was something about him that seemed just alittle...different and it really irritated me that I was thinking about it now instead of where I was going after the tapings were over or what club Lauren and I would be going to this weekend when she visited me in Connecticut. I couldn't pin point exactly what it was that made him so different than anyone else I had seen pass through here with Dixie, many of them I never even gave a second thought but there was something about this rather well built, clean shaven, way too stiff boy...man? that was throwing me off. Hell, I didn't even know his name. After fixing the smudged line of my eyeliner and applying a darker coat to my lash line, I turned around to face Ashley with a curious thought. "Hey, Ashley...do you know who the new guy walking around with Dixie is? I mean...I passed them but I was in such a hurry to get back here before Jessica caught up to me for stealing the win in our match that I didn't have time to ask or make introductions..." There must've been something on my face that read bitchy curiosity because as soon as I finished my question Ashley's shoulders straightened and stiffened as if I had slapped her, clearly my portrayal of 'Velvet Sky' seemed to be running over into Jamie land by accident. I really needed to keep control of my emotions better, especially when it came to the seperation of Jamie and Velvet. "_Uh...I think I heard Kevin and Steve talking about him...I guess he's supposed to be in his first match tonight for the company against Matt Morgan. I heard Rhino's been training him and he's ex-military. He's totally hot, I saw him earlier and oh...my...god.._" for some reason as Ashley fanned herself thinking about the mystery man, my blood started to boil in jealousy. I knew nothing about him, yet Ashley 'the new girl on the block' knew that much...it wasn't fair. Exhaling a breath, I took a second to control my thoughts and once I was sure I wasn't going to lash out at Ashley for something that wasn't even her fault, I spoke again "Really...he's been training with Rhino? Hm...interesting." pausing in my thoughts, Ashley looked at me like I was nuts...either that or she was afraid of what I was going to say. She just kept looking at me like I was a ticking time bomb...my face must've read as much. I really needed to control that. "Do you...uh, happen to know his name?" I asked, hoping that the information vessel in front of me could supply me with the answers I wanted, most importantly his name. As if to read my mind, Ashley answered me, slightly cautious. "_I think..I heard his name mentioned backstage a few times...I think his name's Jesse..._" "Jesse...what? Come on, you know more about him than everyone else around here...well anyone I'm not talking to at the moment, so Jesse what?" "_Jesse...Neal, I think. I just know that he's been training with Rhino and he's supposed to have a match against Matt Morgan tonight. Did I mention that he's totally gorgeous?_" that was all it took before I lashed out on Ashley...'Velvet' style. "He is none of your concern right now...shouldn't you be getting ready for a match with Shantelle right now anyway? God, you're such a gossip." with that, I spun around and crossed my arms, peering into the mirror as I sulked. I knew that I was going to have to apologize later for my actions but at the moment I was so filled with rage at the thought of Ashley thinking about the mystery...Jesse Neal, like he was a piece of ass that I didn't care how I acted, even if I was acting like a spoiled brat. Confused and very, very afraid of what I would do, Ashley grabbed her knee pads and left the room, leaving me all to myself. Normally this would've made me happy but without Lauren here this week and this new guy mudding up my thoughts, I just wanted to take an aspirin and sleep away the rest of the day. Unfortunately that wasn't a possibility and I knew it.

After sulking in the locker room for the last three hours, the show was finally over and I had changed from my ring gear into a pair of jeans and a pink tank jacket. Yes, I'm aware that it is a strange mix of a tank top and a jacket but it's cute and I love it, sue me. Everyone always headed over to the Orlando Ale House after the shows, most of the time we just hung out, had some good food and a few beers. Occasionally we hung out with some of the fans that had been in the Impact Zone for the tapings and pretty much had a good night. Tonight however instead of hanging out in the heart of the party, I took a seat at a booth on the outskirts of the room and ordered a beer. Nothing but Coors Light baby. Pulling my phone from my pocket I found that I received a text I hadn't known anything about. Here's the deal, I've kind of been 'seeing' another wrestler within the company but no one really knew anything about it. I mean, it's not like I could just come out and tell people that we're kind of 'together' when he's a giant asshole who at the moment is supposed to seem like he's dating a ton of women, his on-screen 'associate' being Traci Brooks. I know there's no commitment necessary with this arrangement and somehow I'm okay with that, but lately it feels like there's something missing between us. I mean, the sex is good...really good, but I want something more than that. I think what attracted me to this person to begin with was the fact that there was no strings attached, it was an affair that I was comfortable with because I didn't know at the time he wasn't married or involved...I had no issues with being 'casual'. I mean, I had just come out of a relationship that I had invested nearly seven years in and I wasn't looking for something permanent or something that felt restricting and I honestly wasn't ready for that type of commitment. Silly me. The first time I had actually talked to him was at a bar, I don't remember where but that doesn't really matter. We got to drinking and talking and drinking some more and after a while one thing lead to another and we ended up having sex that night...and pretty much every night since then. Reading over the text message on my phone now, I couldn't help but think about our short past together and smile because as much of an ass as he came off at times, he was really sweet at other times and he kept me on my toes. Oh and the person that I'm talking about would be everyone's favorite millionaire asshole, Robert Roode. Don't ever call him Robby unless you're screaming an orgasm because he really, really, _really_ hates it. He hates Bobby even more. Anyway, the message seemed to scream to me that I shouldn't be thinking about this other guy because even though it wasn't public, I was with someone, without Robert actually knowing anything about Jesse since he was on the UK Maximum Impact Tour...oh he would be surprised. I felt guilty as I read the message over again, I knew that I shouldn't be thinking about someone else, even if I hadn't met him before or knew anything other than backstage speculation but somehow I figured that it was a sign that things were going to get rocky...but like the stubborn ass that I am, I ignored my gut instinct and I answered Robert's message acting like there was nothing wrong. _Jamie, hope everything's good in Orlando. James and I went bar hopping and I ended up having to babysit him 'til he passed out. Think of me often. -Robert._ Damn him. Robert, everything's fine in Orlando. New faces around the male locker room, ooh la la ;). You really need to watch Storm's beer consumption, just sayin'. :P Can't wait for you to get back ;) xoxo Jamie. Once I hit send, I slumped down into my chair, feeling like the biggest schmuck ever because I knew that even though I was only kidding, part of me felt like I was about to be telling the truth. Alot.


	2. Introductions

Setting my phone down, I took a long drink from my beer just as the waiter brought me my burger and fries. I'm not exactly known for eating the healthiest but I run it off on the treadmills so it all works out in the end. Squirting some ketchup onto the open space I had managed to burrow on my plate between my burger and fries, I heard someone walking towards me. I don't mean that I'm telepathic or anything, I can just tell when someone's walking towards me, their feet scuff the floor or move the floor boards. At first I thought that it was a fan wanting an autograph which I am totally okay with, I mean I wouldn't be as successful as I am without them so what's a few pictures and writing my name down? It's nothing really. Looking up to see who it was that was coming towards me, I dropped the fry that I held in my hand because the person coming towards me wasn't exactly someone that I was expecting...like, at all. "_Is this seat taken?_" he asked and at first I found it hard to speak but after a second I unthawed and shook my head. "No it's not taken, please...sit." I answered, trying not to sound like a complete dork wad. Probably highly unsuccessful. With a grin Jesse took a seat across from me, of course he didn't know that I knew who he was and I wasn't going to ruin it with telling him so once he started to speak I just listened. "_My name's Jesse and...I wanted to introduce myself. I saw you earlier when I was walking around with Dixie but you didn't stop long enough for me to do so...so..._" I really wanted to hurl myself into oncoming traffic at that point. "Yeah...sorry about that. I was kind of in a hurry. It's nice to meet you Jesse...I'm Jamie, but most people just call me Velvet Sky...well, atleast fans do. You can call me either...and sorry about the rambling I swear it'll stop any second..." I grinned, hoping that he didn't find me to be a complete spaz. I swear, I'm normally not like this, why did just his presence turn me into such a...well, such a girl? Jesse laughed, seeming more amused with me than anything and I was happy with that, I think. "_No, no. It's okay I think the rambling is nice. Proves you're human. Nice to meet you Jamie._" I didn't know what I was so nervous about, I mean, he's just a guy...like any other male on the planet but in the pit of my stomach I knew that I was wrong...very, very wrong. "Well...it's nice to meet you too. I uh...I heard some things about you, nothing too bad but I was wondering, how'd you get mixed up with TNA's higher management?" Of course, like I had predicted, I ended up sounding more like a stalker than I would've liked. Shoot me now, please. With another laugh, a gorgeous, melodic, wonderful laugh...god he was hot when he laughed. I listened to the newcomer with something I guessed to be infatuation. Crap. "_Well, it's kinda hard to talk about but long story short, I was in the military and my friend passed away and we bonded over wrestling. I wanted to become a wrestler to honor his memory and our dream so I have been working with Rhino and TNA has given me a shot. Even though I lost to Morgan tonight I'm still proud of myself, ya know?_" I did know...well, I knew that he had lost to Matt. With a nod I decided that my best bet at the moment might be to just act as dumb as I possibly could. "Well, I'm glad that TNA management has allowed you this chance to live your dream. It's hard but if the fans like you and connect with you, you'll know." I hoped that some part of my sentence was alittle hopeful, knowing that I only believed part of it myself. Watching Jesse chuckle...there was so much life in his eyes but something didn't really reach him and I wasn't sure what that was about or why he seemed so happy on the outside and yet somewhere deep down, he wasn't happy. Not my problem I guess. After I shook the cobwebs from my head, I finally got an idea and was glad to change the subject. "Have you ever played beer pong?"


	3. Awakening

It's been a week since I met Jesse and honestly I can't get him out of my head. The night he introduced himself to me at the Ale House, we had so much fun learning about each other while playing beer pong and in my heart I felt like I was just hanging out with an old friend. That's not exactly the easiest or most comforting thing to think about because that's the way I used to feel with...well, the guy I spent almost seven years of my life with. Anyway...I knew that it was wrong but I've been avoiding Robert as of late. Atleast until I figured out exactly what it is that makes me think of Jesse so much. I don't know how many times Lauren and Ashley have caught me day dreaming...atleast they don't know that it's about Jesse's smile, the dimples on his cheeks...the beautiful eyes and playful spirit that he...STOP IT! Damn it. I was never going to be able to do this, there was no way I was ever going to be able to spend time with Robert without my thoughts drifting back to Jesse...and I sure as hell couldn't have sex with Robert with the risk of slipping and calling him Jesse. That wasn't fair to either man, especially when I knew for a fact that somehow Jesse seemed to rub Robert the wrong way and he's only been around Jesse for maybe five days. Fuck. Running my hand through my loose hair as I approached Robert's hotel door, I knew that I was going to have to tell him something...why, oh why, didn't I just call and tell him I couldn't come? "Because you're an idiot.." I whispered just as I let my hand slide out of my hair and curl into a fist, knocking on the hollowed door in front of me. Sometimes I should just beat myself with a shoe, maybe then that would knock some sense into me. Meh, probably not. Twisting my toes into the concrete as I stood outside the door, it took about thirty seconds before I heard the click of the door and looked up to stare into those knee melting steel blue eyes...God I need serious help. Instead of speaking once I saw Robert, I stepped foreward...somewhat crushing my weight against him as I stepped up onto my tip toes and pressed my lips against his in an attempt to hide the fact that I was thinking about Jesse. Again, more than likely not successfully. It didn't take Robert very long to notice that my mind wasn't on what I was doing before he pulled away from me and stepped back so that I could enter the room. Attempting to moisten my sand paper lips by rubbing them together as I walked into the room, the silence was very lonely as the door shut behind me with a click. Exhaling the breath I held in my throat, I heard Robert clear his and I knew that things were going to get more complicated than they already seemed to be. Placing my purse down on the floor beside the end of the bed, I took a seat and crossed my legs, facing the person that had done me more good than harm in the past few months and instantly felt like a jackass for even having the thoughts I had. Curses. "_I don't know what's up with you, but I figure that it has to have something to do with whatever's rattling around in your head. So, you can either tell me or I can force it out of you.._" Even if it was his way of 'asking' what was wrong with me, my shoulders stiffened and my back straightened like I was preparing to defend myself against false accusations. I wasn't on trial here but in the back of my mind Robert's words triggered the same feelings that...the guy I spent nearly seven years with caused the day we broke up. I guess my stiffness and defensiveness was all a reaction to being on the spot and all of the memories I had bottled up over the past couple months after I became freed from my past relationship. It wasn't his fault but the tone in his voice made me want to slap him and as much as I may've wanted to it took every ounce of restraint I had not to because I knew that it wouldn't solve anything. This wasn't Robert's fault...he didn't know what happened or why I didn't want to get close to someone, it wouldn't have been very nice of me to reach over and slap that smirk off of his knee weakening, good looking, chizzled features. Ahh, bloody hell. "I uh...I don't know what your talking about. There's noth...nothing wrong with me. Honestly." I answered, not really looking at him because as he stared I could feel his eyes burning their way through my mind, knowing that I was lying my ass off. "_Nothing's wrong huh? Nothing...then why won't you look at me when you say that and by the way, what the HELL was up with that text message last week. Is there something you'd like to tell me Jamie?_" Fuck, fuck, fuck. I knew that there was no point in lying...talking to Robert sometimes was like trying to lie to my Dad, neither was something that I was good at unless I was trying to get myself into major trouble. We're talking like the Empire State Building amount of trouble. Looking up at Robert as I leaned foreward and placed my elbows on my knees, I used my palms to rub my face before resting my chin on them, hazel eyes locking on Robert's goregeous steel blue peepers. "I...I don't know okay? I just...I met this new guy and I know that you don't like him and I...we hit it off pretty well and now I can't stop thinking about him. I..." pausing for a moment, I took a moment to look at the carpet while attempting to make sense of the mess going on inside my skull. Too bad there's not a dang gun around here somewhere...nah, that'd be too easy. "I know that it's not right for me to be thinking about him when I'm...when we're...well, when we're whatever the hell we are but I can't help it.." finishing my rambled thoughts as I watched Robert's face, it seemed like he knew exactly who I was talking about whether or not he wanted to acknowledge it. "_This...new guy. That would be Jesse..right?_" If he had been trying to hide the hurt in his voice, he hadn't done a very good job, even with the sharp tone in his voice. Normally I would've been shooken up at the crispness of his voice but this time I couldn't get past the fact that there seemed to be more to the 'us' in his head than just sex. There seemed to be...emotion there that I couldn't seem to place or even understand. Impossible...Robert Roode had feelings...for me? Damn it...this wasn't the way it was supposed to go, he...we weren't supposed to get attached...I liked not having to answer to anyone but he was making that hard now. I wanted to run to him...I wanted to tell him no, that I didn't think about anyone but him...comfort him and I knew that my legs wouldn't let me move to do that. My heart wasn't healed from my break-up with...the guy before Robert...I couldn't even say his name in my head without it cutting a hole right through my heart and now..with Jesse, I was tearing myself into three pieces when I didn't even know how Jesse felt about me. I wasn't even certain that what I was feeling and thinking about him was nothing more than an infatuated crush. It had only been a week but I felt something more with Jesse than I had with anyone else and I knew that it was something special. Why did things like this always happen to me? I'm not worth falling in love with, or even falling for in the first place, but somehow I seem to attract the people that I would rather not hurt. I hate being me. "Yes...it would be Jesse..." I finally managed to whisper before biting my bottom lip, trying my hardest not to bite all the way through it.

The sound of teeth grating together wasn't exactly a sound that I was accustomed to but at the moment, even though his mouth was shut, I could hear Robert's teeth splintering away as he moved them back and forth. This really didn't help that little...guilt monster growing in the pit of my stomach. "_Well, that's...that's just grand isn't it.._" With a shake of my head I grumbled under my breath and swallowed deeply before raising my head and my gaze to look at Robert. "I know...that you're not happy. I get that...but I can't help it, I just...I don't know what to do or how I feel or anything right now and I would appreciate it if you didn't yell at me about it. Can we just...I don't know, spend some time together...something?" I hoped that by remaining calm and begging for Robert to understand that it would work, more than likely however I knew that wasn't going to be a good thing. Robert may've been alot of things but understanding wasn't on the list most of the time. Hence the reason that everyone called him a woman beater, though I knew that it wasn't always one hundred percent accurate. He'd never once hit me. It took only a second before the walls that Robert had let down built right back up, covering his emotions in an ice barrier once again with me, acting like nothing was wrong with him. "_Sure, we can spend time together. We always do, nothing's changed...why would you ask something like that when you know the answer already?_" Raising my eyebrow slightly, I looked at him and swallowed a deep breath once again. I knew that I had hurt him, without meaning to intentionally and there was nothing I could do right now to fix the damage I caused. Damn it. "Robert...I didn't mean to...hurt you, you have to know that...I..." before I had the chance to finish speaking, Robert raised his hand and cut me off, looking straight through me with those ice cold blue eyes. He acted as if I was no more important to him at the moment then another match on his schedule and...that hurt...alot more than he knew. "_Look...just drop it okay? I don't care what you have to say right now, so anything you want to say that involves the words 'I'm sorry' or 'I didn't mean to..this or that' are just a waste of time and oxygen. Don't speak unless you're going to say something more useful than that. Emotions are a waste of time unless they're of anger or malicious intent._" I wasn't sure what to say that the moment, his tone was so sharp I was taken aback and there wasn't anything that I could think of that would calm the situation again. I had a feeling from the moment I had seen Jesse Neal that things weren't going to go as smoothly for me as they had been, if you could call breaking up with the person you thought you were going to marry a smooth move, and I was right. I usually had no problem with being right, in fact I adored and welcomed it, but now I was rethinking everything. My life had started unraveling a week ago and it was only a matter of time before I came to the end of the string. Why am I cursed with being drawn to the _wrong_ guys all the time? Ughhh. "You...You know that's not true damn it. I just want... I want us to work more than anything else in the world right now. You're all I've known since things went bad, really bad, and I really want you to be the one thing that's good..." I knew that it was a long shot trying to bargin with him about this, but what I said was what I wanted to be true and I knew that it could be if I put Jesse out of my mind and focused in on Robert. "_Fine...let's just drop this okay?_" Nodding in agreement, I stood from the bed and walked towards him, placing my hands against his neck before my lips pressed against his. That one moment was all it took before his arms wrapped around me in an affectionate embrace and sent us into making love for the rest of the night. Sometimes I wish things were always that easy, but then again it might just be _me_ that's the easy part. Interesting.


End file.
